I thought it would be helpful to create a list of scams to
beware of while traveling in India. I read several before
I went and it helped me to avoid some and in one case
realize I was in one before I could be taken (see post #1).
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Basically the scam is that rickshaw drivers get travelers
to make a phone call from a phony STD office to the hotel
they want to stay at (to confirm a reservation) but instead
the phone call goes to a backroom where someone else
answers and pretends to be the hotel and says, "Oh I'm
sorry we don't have any more rooms". Then the unfortunate
traveler is upset and worried and the rickshaw driver says
"oh, no worry - why not try calling this hotel."
Gratefully the traveler calls the new hotel (again the guy
in the backroom) and finds that yes there is room (of
course at a much higher price).
I was aware of this scam but I got sucked into it - We
arrived in the Delhi train station at 10:30 PM. We made
several phone calls to hostels in the area until we found
one with a room in the Connaught Circle area. Outside the
station we negotiated with bicycle rickshaws until we
finally bargained one of them down to 5 Rs. We thought we
had a good deal (nothing is ever free). Our rickshaw
driver took us out of the station and down the main
entrance road to a STD office on the side of the road. He
stopped the bike, got out and told us to get out as well -
we needed to confirm our hotel reservations. At this point
I knew we were in the scam but - how to get out. We told
him we had just confirmed our reservations at the station.
We sat in the rickshaw. He seem very frustrated with us
and went to get someone from inside the building who
started to scream at us that we MUST get off the rickshaw
and make a confirmation phone call. We refused and
demanded that they take us to our hostel. We threatened to
get out of the rickshaw and call the police - then they
finally calmed down and another guy got on the bike and
started peddling over his shoulder he said, "OK I take you
to Hotel for 100 Rs." We yelled at him and at this point
got out of the rickshaw and started to walk (not the
brightest idea - in the middle of the night) but we could
see some traffic up ahead and we figured we'd be fine.
While we were there we saw two travelers already inside
making phone calls.
At Pushkar you will be met by pleasant men who say they are
priests and they lead you to the Lake. Then there are
various imprecations and small rituals. You get to repeat a
few phrases. Then they say that you have promised to give
100 Rs, 400Rs or some such. I enjoyed the experience and
thought the routine was well worth the 50Rs I eventually
gave him but some western tourists were going beserk.
although these posts make depressing reading considering
india is such a wonderful place to be in, nonetheless it
DOES help avoid unpleasant experiences. Having said that, as
lp guides say (don't people ever read them?) taxi drivers at
the airport will usually say that there are riots in
delhi/roads have been closed/hotels have burned down and
will instead steer you to jaipur or srinagar. the scam
involves a network of shady travel agents, taxi drivers,
police and touts. most of the victims have poor english
skills and i'm sorry to say, most of the victims have been
japanese tourists.
another one involves changing currency illegally and again,
many of the victims are russians or those from c.i.s.
countries. the tout will show you a bundle of indian
currency notes, take you to a narrow bylane and hustle you
into parting with your dollars/pounds/francs. he will say
that it's illegal and that the police are patrolling. you'll
in fact see a policeman (they usually do these near the
police booths so there's a good chance of seeing cops) and
the tout will take your money, dump the "currency bundle" in
your hands and ask you to run. the "currency bundle" will
turn out to be plain paper strips with real currency on the
top and bottom. better to stick to banks and authorized
money changers. and in any case, the dollar fetches only one
rupee more in the black market.
..that Peter from Lonely planet had put a topic on, calling
out for just these sort of stories? Apparently, they're
working on a booklet for first time travellers.. all the
things they would have to be aware of.. The topic was on
Your Choice, but I've just gone through the whole tree,
wanting to give you the number of the topic to repost these
stories there, and it looks like they took it off
already.. They were all thrilling stories.. can see why
they took it off, before too many people had a chance to
read them before they'll go in print.. If they print them,
you'd get your name under it (if you want) and you'd get
rewarded (besides the fame of your name in print) of a free
guide of your choice..
I would say, re-mail them directly to the attention of
Peter.. peterc@lonelyplanet.com.au.. with the mention:
first time travellers.. (or otherwise, click on the talk2us
at the bottom of the topic page)
I admit scam stories can make interesting reading and indeed
prove helpful to some travellers. Of course I've had taxi
drivers try to take me to a hotel I didn't want to go to.
And, although not in India, I witnessed a currency ripoff
similar to the one above. However, I find the scams are for
the most part so transparent that a modicum of common sense
and resolve on the part of the traveller disarms the
scammers. India has, in the words of a tailor I met in
Kerala, a 'very good clever', and a very great need, so
scams do occur. But certainly no more than in absolutely
EVERY other country, I'm sure of it. I know no one's trying
to slam India, but I couldn't resist a word of moderation
lest the impression be that India be defined as a hotbed of
scammers.
Watch your step in Rome, watch your back in LA, beware in
Paris, careful in London, etc. etc. etc.
I agree with cmn sns that most scams are easily spotted and
avoided. Americans seem particularly paranoid about being
ripped off, everywhere they go. However, the alleged food
poisoning tragedy posted recently is chilling. So I guess
this might be a useful posting.
The "milk for baby" scam is standard in Bombay. You get
'picked up' by an irresistible young kid near the Gateway to
India. He or she will warn of this or that shop, give
directions, ask about your country, smile and joke.
Ultimately the kid will say he's gotta go, and you'll reach
in your pocket.
"No! No! No money please! Just friends! If you want, you can
buy powdered milk for baby brother!" Many of the kids have
learned that actually having the baby with them puts off
foreigners who suspect that the baby has been rented for
this purpose.
You fall for this selfless suggestion. But where to find
powdered milk?! Ah! As luck would have it the guy with the
little souvenir table over there, with potmetal Shivas and
Ganges mud Ganeshas just HAPPENS to sell powdered milk too.
How convenient!
So you go to the table and lo, the kid to whom you were
about to hand 5 or 10 or 20 rups now looks up adoringly at
you as the vendor announces that the cannister of milk goes
for a mere Rs 200!
I admit I was going for it until they announced the price.
The kid was a master. But 200 rups?!
On slightly closer inspection you notice that the
cannister's top is crusty with dust, but the sides are
smooth and clean. The way they'd be if the cannister were
regularly picked up and put back...
I towsled the kid's hair, handed him 10 rups and told him he
was a very naughty boy. He smiled and shrugged, took the ten
rupees and ran off in search of another rube.
The vendor tried to look like he didn't understand when I
told him I thought it was dangerous to run scams so close to
the Gods...
I then strolled over the the green near the Gateway and,
like many Indians and foreigners alike, sat on the grass to
rest and watch and hang out. Very soon a little girl
appeared, very pretty, dancing eyes: "Hello! What is your
country..."
"If it's about the powdered milk, forget it!"
And she was gone....
Ok, it's a scam. But like most scams, it's completely
obvious. Even the kids know it. But sometimes it works.
Indians will probably protest that giving the kids ANYTHING
is wrong, encourages dishonesty, encourages the kids to
avoid real work, provides the kids and their masters with
huge incomes, etc. But in the case of the boy who first
worked it on me, he did provide helpful directions and fun
conversation, and the performance was easily worth the
tanner.
Would u all send me ur e-mail addresses? I 'd like to bring
such 'tourist' scams to the attention of the apathetic
authorities in India - with media help. I am aware about
some scams but I had no clue that it was so well organised
and movie like.
Yes, a heavily populated poor country can have it's share
of callous fast buck makers.
Basically, the average person on the road thinks every
'gora' i.e. fair skin person is filthy rich and making him
lose a buck or two is an okay thing.
We - 'the traveller community' must try and improve state
of affairs where we can.
Dear Mohit,
Please. The Indian authorities are very aware of all the
scams. your idea of getting media help to change it is
laughable. This forum and others like it is probably a good
place for these scams to be publicized.
But really, you're making India out to be a den of iniquity.
Get a life.
Judging by the tone of this discussion, everyone above is
fond of India. There's no point pretending it is something
it is not. India is more prone to scams than most countries
in the world, but happily the majority of scams are
generally pretty harmless (unlike some other places in the
world), and only involve a few rupees. One word to the wise
novice traveler: when you are interacting with a potential
scam-artist, a momentum builds up (leading to the
transaction, being taken to the wrong place in an auto,
etc). It seems many people are taken because they are not
confident enough (or cynical enough) to stand up against
that momentum -- it's just easier to keep going and part
with the cash. If you are uncomfortable, just walk away.
i was told of a scam which might infact be termed as crime.
a pleasant looking person will befreind you and offer you some sweets or fruit juices which has been "blessed" by the temple priest. eating the holy stuff is common among the worshippers.
this stuff is actually spiked. the guy will actually track you around. when you are too weak or too blank to notice what is going on, he will take your bag or other valuables from you. it all depends on the location and how crowded the places are. sometimes his gand member might offer you assistance to help you relax and recover and do the clean up act.
I was in India a couple of years ago. 'twas a great trip,
despite the dystentary, but there is one scam that I never
understood how it worked, having said 'no' all the way...
someone must have had a similiar experience & can tell me.
In Jaipur and around the Taj Mahal, you run into lots of
jewellers who ask you to courier gems to London for them,
delivering the gems to their brother/cousin/whoever, and on
delivery of the gems you will be paid somewhere around
ú1000. The guys who ask you to do this are generally very
insistent.... it takes about an hour of saying 'no' before
the subject is dropped.
Now, the thought of couriering anything for anyone in that
part of the world scares me bigtime, however they were very
insistent that no drugs were involved.
Anyway, does anyone know how this scam works? It's
definitely something new travellers should be aware of.
The Thorn Tree is just one part of the LP site. One part
of the 'Poscards' section is dedicated to scams and
warnings. Might be worth a look.
Here are two more I saw: at the Bombay Airport there is an
official-looking booth which says "Hotel Information." If
you ask the person at the booth for information, he does his
best to warn you that moderately-priced hotels are either
full or not safe. If that doesn't work, he pretends to call
the hotels you have requested for you, but of course, all
are full. He then finds you an overpriced room at a very
basic hotel, and asks "be sure to tell them that Mr. Patel
from the Airport sent you." Don't believe it: he's just a
tout looking for a commission.
A railroad employee comes up to you at a station waiting
room, and expresses concern about the safety of your
luggage. He generously offers to "lock it up" for you in a
special compartment of the train. There is, of course, a
sizable charge for this service. When that fails, he looks
at your tickets and gasps "you didn't pay the special
assessment on your ticket!" He offers to collect it right
then and there, because if you don't pay, surely you'll be
put off the train. Just smile and tell him you have no
money and that you'll just have to risk it. Scam-ola!
I had personal experience with 2 scams on 2 different trips:
1) The gem scam (this was my first trip to India - first
time out of Europe - I was naive!). In Jaipur boy got into
conversation with me on the street - he wanted to study in
London and would like some info. His uncle had a gem factory
and he could take me to have a look around. All very
interesting - would I then like to have dinner with his
family - wife and children included. Very friendly people, I
felt lucky to have made contact with such friendly people.
His uncle owned a hotel - I could stay there for free. I
moved from the hotel where I was to this "hotel" (which
turned out to be a really grotty flat- and of course well
away from any other travellers) - but I didn┤t want to look
a gift horse in the mouth as these people had been so kind
to me. I put my own lock on the door to be safe. The next
day these people asked me if I┤d like to send gems to my
address in England, so as to save them paying duty (this
was all perfectly legal according to them), where they would
later be picked up by there contact person - I would be paid
commission. I reluctantly agreed, thinking this all sounded
a bit dubious, but they had been so kind to me, but said I
didn┤t want any money for doing this. The gems were weighed
and packed and we took them to the post office just before
closing time, where they were sent. Then came the credit
card scam bit - I must realize that they need a guarantee
from me that I would hand over these stones, which were
worth 2000 pounds according to them. They wanted me to sign
a credit card slip as a "guarantee", just in case, which
they would of course not cash - the stones had been sent so
we could not go back on the "deal". I know this sounds
really naive, but the way they pressured me and I was all on
my own.
I did sign a credit card slip - but luckily had second
thoughts that evening and phoned England to cancel my credit
card. And just in time - they had tried to cash the slip
that day!! By the way, the gems actually reached England,
but turned out to be pretty worthless.
2) Arrived late at night and alone in Delhi. Took the bus to
Connaught place and then wanted to get a rickshaw to the
main Bazaar. On the way the rickshaw driver starts telling
me how dangerous the area is for tourists - then, on cue,
another guy steps into the road, stops the rickshaw and
starts shouting at me (which I don┤t understand), shakes me
and hits me (not really hard, but hard enough for my glasses
to fall off and be lost). See how dangerous Delhi is? says
the driver. "I take you to a "safe" hotel - near the airport
- only $100!! Obviously he gets commission at these
expensive hotels. Very shaken and a long time later, I
eventually persuaded him to take me to a hotel near the one
I wanted.
I loved India, but I must admit I don┤t plan to return alone
again!
I am a professional scamster and would like to thank all of
you for giving me further ideas. Please do continue to
provide me with more ideas, so that I can dupe you all
more efficiently (and in a friendly manner.
Namaskar,
Top Scam
Fresh off the plane in Calcutta, my partner and I were approached by a friendly guy near the Indian Railways office. "How do you like our India?" he asked. He was an Air India pilot from Delhi, his wife was with him but out buying saris, would we like to have lunch and then perhaps meet his wife at the sari store? Well, it sounded like a scam, but the guy was entertaining enough, and we had bony chicken tandoori and ended up getting a high-pressure sales pitch at a silk shop. (No wife there, of course.) I ended up with a souvenir kurta, resisting the pricier items on offer, and felt that the kickback he got was a couple of dollars I didn't mind paying for the full-afternoon experience. But the guy did become rather mythic around our house. And then a full five years later we ended up in Calcutta again. On our first day, we made some train reservations, left the railway office, and..."How do you like our India?" Same guy. We nearly collapsed with laughter. I know about the eternal cycles of life, but....
Of course, no good words for steeling and robbing, but a lot of the so called scams can be very amusing. The best part is that the scamster really thinks that you are so foolish to believe him. What about this one: I arrived in Madras after a 38 hour train journey and was very thirsty. A man approached me an sensed my thirst. It was extremely hot and I told him that only a very, very cold drink would do. He came back with a Limca, aleady opened. I touched the bottle and the contents must have been at least as hot as that day. I looked at him, pissed off. Then he said: "but it is very cold inside".
If you are pleasently cinical to scamsters and make a joke about his attempt, they will also laugh!!!
Dear Friends,
It is very sad that such things have happened here in my
beloved country. I feel that all of you who have written
this basically like India. I am very happy that you do so
and will continue to do so even after such experiences.
I am the webmaster of www.indiabiks.com and ask permission
to include these stories in a new section that I am about
to create on Beware! I would apreciate if some of you would
send a few pictures of ourselves with the a deeper story to
me at andy@indiabikes.com. Have a look at my site and tell
me if how I ca improve it further.
andy
1. Don't prebook your houseboat in Delhi. Unless time
is of
the essence and money no problem. Why pay for
something
you
have not seen yet - there's no refund available as in
Europe
or US if you're not happy. Someone is paying for the
touts'
offices etc in Delhi - it's you.
2. Ignore the touts at Srinagar bus station. Take an
autorickshaw to Dal Lake (10r)or turn right outside
the
entrance and walk 10 mins. There are 100's of boats to
choose from. Hire a shikara (prices displayed or
negotiate
for a few rupees) out to a group of boats, and take
your
pick after inspection. There's a large group about 50m
offshore from the Boulevard opposite hill with TV
mast.
They're OK but noise carries from the busy road.
Another
group just past Nehru Park where the lake widens look
much
more tranquil. You should get a reasonable deal
(250r/day incl meals. US$1=42r)
3. Confirm the price (in writing?), especially if
you're a
lone traveller, with the person you will ultimately
pay. All
meals included, sample menu?, hot water on tap,free
tea,
free shikara to shore etc. The scam that was worked on
me on
the HB "Rosemary" was brother A showed me around the
boat
and we agreed a price. When I came to settle the bill
the
morning I was leaving, brother A has disappeared to
Sonamarg, and brother B informs me the price has
increased
"You must have been mistaken, sahib." What to do? My
word against his. Early am and 35 mins to get to shore
(no
shikaras about except brother B's) to catch your bus.
Who to
complain to anyway? The money is insignificant by
western
standards. It's the dishonesty that leaves a nasty
taste in
your mouth.
4.Arrange your own excursions (lake tour - prices
clearly
posted by ghats, trekking, etc). Don't let the hb owner
act
as middleman until you've done a bit of research
yourself. I
met 3 young English lads, first time overseas, who'd
paid an
horrendous 8750r/dy each for a 3 day trek - about 10
times
the true price!
5. Always ask the price first of any item or service (a
good
lesson everywhere in the world). My HB owner stocked up
the
fridge (only working 1 day in 5 - power cuts) for me
with
cool drink from the local store. Lulled into a false
sense
of security "You are an honoured guest, my brother." I
never
bothered to ask the price. When the bill came at the
end it
was triple the price I'd have paid for a truly cold
drink from shikaras that pass by every 15 mins.
6. You'll be constantly pestered by hawkers coming
onboard
to sell jewellery,papier mache, woodcarvings etc.for
which
the HB owner no doubt gets a cut. "Only look. Costs
nothing
to look. Your satisfaction is my only desire." They're
very
persistent.If you're really not interested, rather than
waste 20 mins of your time and theirs, disappear to the
roof
or your bedroom for a while.
7. Similarly, on excursions. Insist that you don't want
to
be dragged around any souvenir shops on the way, if
that's
your wish.
8. 96 edition of LP guide has map of Srinagar. 97
doesn't.
9. Reserve a seat on left side of bus Leh>Srinagar for
more spectacular scenery.
Good luck!
This one is very common. Travellers are walking to a hotel,
avoiding touts on the way. Scammer sees tourists
approaching and guesses which hotel they're heading for.
Scammer runs into hotel, tells manager he's brought
tourists to the hotel and he'd like his commission (Rs 50
or 100 usually). Manager agrees, as long as the travellers
appear. Just as the travellers enter, the scammer runs up
to them and says hello, I'm the houseboy. Manager sees
scammer with tourists. Tourists go up to their room with
the slightly inflated price, scammer collects his
commission and goes back to wait for the next tourists who
think they're saving money by finding hotels themselves.
Whenever buying train tickets, buy only from the
station/railway counters and not from any strangers. If a
stranger says that tickets are not available for a
particular train check from the railway counters. Also train
tickets have the railway-fare printed on them - do not go by
the amount said by anybody. To get an idea on the railway
fares check a current railway time-table. Allways check if
the the ticket is a confirmed one before purchasing it.
The railways have a web-site "www.indianrailway.com" which
will give you information on the train service available.
Happy Journey!
A
If you buy those little plastic containers with red and
yellow wax strands - which look surprisingly close to
saffron, in Bombay, then you will have an inexpensive
present for people back at home that you don't like, but I
wouldn't suggest that you use the stuff to
OK, we were at this tourist office in Madras, desperately
trying to find out how we could get out of there by sea. And
of course, a friendly Indian soul (a guy about 40)
approaches us and wants to know why we look so desperate. We
told him we wanted to get on a boat to Singapore. Somehow.
Straight away, the guy tells us he is an old seaman, he
knows everybody at the harbour, he would get us on a boat
within a week. He was very confident. He went with us to the
harbour and tried talk the officers to let us in. Not a
chance. Nice try though. We gave him something rediculous
like 15 Rs. He wanted to meet us the next day. Now he wanted
the copies of our passports because, he said, he now had
arranged everything for us to leave on a cargo ship where
his best friend/brother/cousin was the captain. Yeah, right.
We gave him the copies of the passports and another 15 Rs.
(Why not give it a try). Anyway, this man came back to us
every day and his stories got more and more elaborate and
out of space. So in the end we quit giving him the money.
But it was a good laugh, I really think he tried to get us
on a boat no matter how hopeless the idea was. And, he also
came up with this brilliant idea that we should hang out at
the seamen's club (a bar, basically) at the harbour and try
to meet people who would take us on their boat. To bad it
didn't work.
WHATCH OUT FOR MANORAM SUNDERAM ARTS IN JAIPUR, INDIA.
One of the hottest scams these days are going on in Jaipur and Agra, it all has to do with purchasing precious and semi precious stones. A couple of indian students will meet you and you will soon be invited to a party or a wedding or something similar, you will spend several days together (having fun and they pay for everyting), then after they finaly have gotten your trust they introduce you to this great way to make fast money. It goes like this: You get paid to work as a courier for them (they dont pay tax that way), you bring the stones/jewellery with you, or they send it to your adresse (home adresse). They will tell you a bullshit story that they have serious business relationship with one of the largest jewellery stores in your country (and they got all the names of big jewellery stores all over Europe and America). They will show you several copies of passports and other documents from other travellers which they claim have done the same deal successfully. (But unfortunately all these people are actually travellers already scamed).
To receive your bonus/money you are told to deliver the goods at their businesspartners store (the jeweller in your country). They will demand several copies of your passports + a signed slip of your credit card (they will charge this card the day after you signed the slip, but they want tell you about that!). You will not recieve the goods, or they will be of very low value). If you are in Jaipur, India stay away from Manoram Sunderam Arts!! According to a friend of mine who is a journalist in India this company have scamed more than 50 travellers (from 5000 to 10000 USD per traveller) . VISA (the creditcard company) know everything about their business but they havent been able to close them down.
SO BEWARE OF ANYONE WORKING FOR MANORAM SUNDERAM ARTS IN JAIPUR. Their main shop is at Tapriya Bhawan, Rasta Jat ke Kuwa ka Chandpole Bazar. (very close to one of the major tourist attractions of Jaipur).
They also have a Show Room close to the Temple of Sitaramji, Konada Kotwali, Chhoti Chaupar.
Second visit to jaiselmer, I was on the bus in, late at
night, warning my friends that there would be quite a few
touts wanting to take us to their ideal choice of hotel, but
that we should stick to our guns and go to one I knew near
the town square (couldn't remember the name). About 13
minutes outside Jaiselmer the bus stopped and a fairly well
dressed fella boarded, spoke to the driver and then cam to
us. His English was excellent, and he explanined to us that
when we arrived we would get a lot of hasstle from hotel
touts, trying to rip us off (I felt all pleased with myself
that my warning was being confirmed - clearly I am a man of
the world - there are nooo flies on me, ahem) he also told
us that he worked for the bus company, which was loosing
business because of this problem and so had come up with a
solution. We would leave the bus, just outside Jaiselmer
and be taken by jeep to the hotel of *our* choice. You
wouldn't believe our luck - not only had the man saved us
from being hasstled but he also new of an excellent hotel!
And if theat was no good (which it wasn't) he knew of a more
pricey but also excellent hotel. By this time one of my
fellow travellers who was sid refused to budge. Traveller 0
scammer 2.
will my body organs be safe in India?
Can be really bad with respect to scams. I had the chance
to study one up close (and laugh quietly to myself, as I
came forewarned - and am by nature very suspicious).
It goes like this: You will be approached by a friendly
young man who invites you to breakfast/lunch with his
family. Once there, thay will tell you that they run a
modest export company and that they need your help to svae
in export taxes. You are told that in return for using your
export quota (said to be about 2000 US$ worth of tax free
goods), they will pay you an amount of money, not high
enough to be suspicious, but enough to tempt a budget
traveller. All you need to do is to pretend you have bought
2000 $ worth of goods from them (or whatever the limit is
on credit cards these days). All they will need is your
credit card number and signature to put on the fake tax
report. Fall for this, and you will be minus a considerable
amount of money (probably the month's limit for your credit
card) within minutes. The gemstone and rikshaw-wallah scams
are also quite common in Agra.